macOS 27 is expected to be unveiled at WWDC26 on June 8 and could feature the first significant update to the Liquid-Glass design that Apple introduced to all of its operating systems in 2025. While the appearance won’t be completely redesigned, the Mac system interface will be further developed to better reflect the original intent.
In software updates 26, Liquid Glass provided a consistent look across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. On the Mac, shadow effects and transparency can sometimes be difficult to read and technically work less smoothly. Rumors are circulating that Apple will fix these problems in macOS 27, making the Mac interface visually calmer and more reliable in performance.
macOS 27 tweaks Liquid Glass design
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman macOS 27’s design is being internally referred to as a ‘slight overhaul’ rather than a complete break in style. Apple would like to improve the existing Liquid-Glass technology with refined shadows and transparency layers, which make the glass effect less overwhelming and keep menus and texts easier to read. So don’t expect a radical redesign of the interface, but rather a refinement of the current appearance.
LCD may be the cause
The new design would be better tailored to the hardware of the Macs than is currently the case. Liquid Glass was originally developed for OLED displays, but many Macs have IPS LCD screens, on which certain animations and light reflections are less effective. The design team may have thought that the practice was not too bad, but that turns out not to be the case for many users.
By optimizing the Liquid Design for Mac, the interface will look better on both LCD and OLED screens. After all, Apple has plans to release a MacBook Pro with an OLED screen at the end of 2026 or early 2027.
Liquid Glass is being finished
The gist of the rumor is that Apple is not launching a new design, but improving the current design for the Mac. The Liquid Glass design has received some adjustments. With Update 26.1 and later updates, Apple added new settings such as a tinted display and options to disable Liquid Glass accents. For software update 27, minor improvements are expected for better daily use.
System-wide Liquid Glass regulator
The most interesting part of the rumor revolves around a system-wide control for the Liquid Glass effect. During the development of iOS 26, Apple is said to have already been working on a slider that allows you to determine exactly how strong the glass effect is in the interface, but that attempt failed when it turned out that it was technically difficult to consistently extend this to the entire system, including folders, navigation bars and home screen.
Yet some of that work is already visible: you can now fine-tune the display of the clock on the lock screen. The latest rumor suggests that Apple is once again trying to make that slider work system-wide in iOS 27, which would allow you to adjust the intensity of Liquid Glass on your iPhone, iPad, and possibly Mac in much more detail than is currently possible.
Focus on stability and
With software update 27, Apple is taking a pause. Development teams clean up old code, address persistent bugs, and optimize animations, connectivity, and battery consumption. The main goal? Ensure that the entire system performs noticeably faster, smoother and more reliably on both new and older Apple devices.